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And I was already on the edge.
I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping tight, and knew that everything that was going to happen next was my fault. Lily would be victimized — either by the Supervisor or other inmates.
And now that I was in the belly of the prison, there was zero chance of escape. My cell was tiny, barely wide enough for my broad shoulders. My bed wasn’t a bed at all but a soiled roll of foam that I could roll up and place in the corner, giving me at least some space. Enough to pace, at least.
And maybe that was their main weapon down here. They wanted me to think and go around and around in my head, driving myself insane.
I had a small window (although to call it a window was an insult to windows everywhere). It was really a small square of light three times my height above me. When I arrived, I jammed my elbows out to either side and scaled the wall. I managed to reach the window. As I peered out, I saw it was half covered by red sand.
Even if I managed to break the window and get it open, I would be sentencing myself to death by drowning as the sand would flow in, filling my room like an hourglass.
There was no way I could squeeze through such a small opening and as for chipping away at it, widening it somehow? Well, I had no tools. The walls were so thick it would have taken me a hundred years to get through it anyway.
Flies buzzed around a cracked bucket and as the room was so small, there was no possible way for me to escape the smell. The worst thing about it was I hadn’t even used it yet.
But I didn’t feel sorry for myself. The truth was, Lily would be far worse.
As news of our attempted escape spread throughout the prison, and no matter how hard the Supervisor might try to suppress it, it would spread, those in charge would seek to make us an example to anyone else who attempted an escape.
I would attempt to convince them that I was the sole one responsible and should receive all the punishment. But I would not fool myself. They would not be lenient on her.
I thought over all the mistakes I’d made over the past five years. I shouldn’t have listened to Cayggod. I should have extended my sentence with one act of antisocial behavior after another.
It wasn’t perfect but at least I could have spent more time with Lily and avoided missing her so much during those five years.
After I had placed Lily in the container, I stood back and watched from the shadows as it was loaded onto the transport ship. Then I headed to the upper decks. Now that the riot had been dealt with, there was no further need for us at the prison.
I had also discovered the cause of the riots in the first place and, along with my little white lies, could enjoy a little retribution on Druin at the same time. Everything was back in order at Ikmal and the Lead Guard and his men could return to the barracks.
It felt good to be on the same transport ship Lily was now stowed away on. And better still, no one would ever know what happened. Once we reached the barracks, the ship would be unloaded. I would be there to take possession of that single cube, hijack a ship, and take Lily away.
Then we would fade away like the morning mists over the floating mountains of Rijaat 7.
By the time anyone noticed we were missing, it would be too late. The fighting pit championships would have restarted, the barracks would be taking inventory after our successful mission, and no one would be any the wiser.
Initially, the female Prizes might think it unusual Lily was not in her cot when they awoke, but with the recent meetings she’d had with the Supervisor, they might suspect she was with him. If not, they were free to make up their own reasons.
I rejoined my men on deck ten and told them to fall in. I should have noticed something was up when they did so with less attention than usual. I picked up on a few funny looks but convinced myself I was being overly suspicious.
As I stepped forward to inspect them, that’s when they jumped me. They pinned me down and stripped me of my armor. I yelled at them to stop, threatening that they would be court marshaled.
One soldier grabbed my helmet and began to unfasten it. I was glad. I would use my ability to plant commands in those not wearing their helmets. They would fight amongst themselves and I could get away.
“Don’t remove his helmet!”
The Supervisor strode in, a contingent of four bodyguards orbiting him like satellites.
“We don’t need any more trouble now, do we?” he said, fixing me with a glare of disgust.
He crouched before me. “You fooled me. But you will fool me no longer. You will do the hardest time. You will spend the rest of your days in the depths of Ikmal prison, surrounded by madmen and traitors. You will not fight and you will not struggle. If you do, that pretty little Prize of yours will suffer an even worse fate than the one you have already put her in.”
My heart thudded loudly in my ears. “Please, don’t hurt her. She’s done nothing wrong. I’ll do everything you ask. Anything—”
“Yes, I know you will. You cannot give me what I already have. Lily will be returned to the Prize Pool for the champions to Claim. And each day that they do not choose her, I shall Claim her. She will be run ragged each and every day of her life. And it will be because of you. It will serve as a reminder to the other inmates not to fall in love with the Prizes, not to break the rules, and to never make a mockery of our security protocols.”
Lily’s fate was worse than I expected. At least as a regular Prize, she could have had days off, could have avoided being Claimed. Now, she would know no peace.
But her being Claimed even once was too much for me to bear. Thinking of her with another inmate touching her, caressing her, entering her…
